Hi Sarah...your'e making me think again!  And...as usual, making me cry too.  Lately I've been fighting whatever it is that makes me feel like I'm trudging through concrete in life and nobly "enduring to the end".  Deep inside I feel that life should be so much more than enduring, but darn it! I guess I've forgotten how to really live!  What is life really for anyway? There are no pizzas or condoms in my future.  However, I do feel like a pioneer sometimes because I broke away from some of the rigid training and programming of my childhood to do taboo things according to my family and the Church.  This pioneering did separate me from the greater community in some ways, so it has been hard, although I've never starved or had frost bite.  But now days in my golden years, I want to know that I've done something brave and worthy. To know that stepping outside of the box was valiant and my life has been more than obedience and enduring.  I love my pioneer ancestors for their strength and grit. And now after reading your article, I feel I understand better how they were able to do it and I want to be that kind of pioneer! Take tender care of yourself Sarah.